MONGOLIA：200 PEOPLE MADE HOMELESS FACE HARSH WINTER

An estimated 200 people in Ulaanbaatar, are facing homelessness due to stalled redevelopment plans. The apartments have become uninhabitable as heating pipes, windows and doors have been removed, and rubbish has been dumped inside the building. These people, including people with disabilities, elderly and families with young children need emergency, alternative and adequate accommodation.

Between February and April 2015, at least 28 households moved out of building #3 in the 10th unit (khoroo) of Sukhbaatar district in Ulaanbaatar. Private developers had promised residents a new apartment in the building that would be redeveloped. The new building would replace the existing building which local authorities have classified as structurally unsound. Some residents who accepted this offer told Amnesty International the developers asked them to remove windows, doors and heating pipes in an attempt to get others to also move out and to prove their own intention to leave. After the building was damaged, it was further vandalized for pipes and materials and rubbish was dumped in the building by passers-by.

Amnesty International researchers visited the building in March 2016 and met some of its residents. The building is now uninhabitable for those who did not move out. Those who agreed to move out were given rent money for one year. However, almost a year later, construction of the new building has not begun and those who had moved out face the choice of moving back to their damaged apartments in building #3 or become homeless. Of the households which did not move out - which included a disabled man and families with young children including a six month old baby - five had nowhere else to go during the winter. At least 12 households which did not accept the rent money moved out because the conditions were intolerable but are planning to move back in April once the weather is warmer.

Residents have appealed to the Mongolian authorities, to request that the heating be reconnected and to repair the building but no effective measures have been taken. Any progress in finding a longer-term housing solution for residents has stalled while residents seek to have the company’s activities on their building suspended in the administrative court.

Everyone has the right to adequate housing under international human rights law and States are obligated to use all appropriate means to promote the right to adequate housing. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to continuous improvement of living conditions.” State Parties have an obligation under this Article to take “appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right”.

As a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Mongolia is obligated to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing, including the prohibition and prevention of forced evictions. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defines a forced eviction as “the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.”

To protect effectively the housing rights of a population, Governments must ensure that any possible violations of these rights by “third parties” such as landlords or property developers are prevented. Where such infringements do occur, the relevant public authorities should act to prevent any further deprivations and guarantee affected persons access to legal remedies or redress for any infringement caused. Authorities must provide adequate alternative housing to all those who cannot provide for themselves, and ensure that no one is left homeless or at risk of human rights violations as a result of an eviction.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, is undergoing large-scale redevelopment. Much of this redevelopment is led by the private sector. In the absence of adequate government regulation of these redevelopment efforts, Amnesty International is concerned that like residents of building # 3, residents within other project areas may face risks concerning their right to adequate housing.

An estimated 200 people from Building #3 in Ulaanbaatar, including a disabled man and families with children, are in desperate need of adequate accommodation. With no heating, missing windows and doors, and winter temperatures dropping to -30°C, authorities must immediately provide emergency, alternative and adequate housing.

Between April and July 2015, at least 28 households moved out of Building #3, in the 10th unit (khoroo) of Sukhbaatar district in Ulaanbaatar. Some of the residents who accepted an offer by private developers, to receive an apartment in a new building they planned to construct, told Amnesty International they were asked to remove windows and doors to show their intent to move out. The building was further vandalized and is now uninhabitable.

No progress has been made in the construction of the new building and households were only offered enough money to cover 12 month’s rent. With no timeline available, the individuals face an uncertain future and will either have to move back to an uninhabitable Building #3, seek alternate accommodation at their own expense or stay with relatives indefinitely.

Some of those that did not accept the company’s offer moved out of Building #3’s intolerable conditions. Five households however, including a disabled man confined to a wheelchair and a family with young children, remained in their apartments during the winter of 2015/16. Since April 2016, an additional five households were forced to return as the cost of paying rent elsewhere was too high.

Following lobbying by residents and Amnesty International, the former Capital City Governor signed a Decree on 24 June 2016 calling for alternative accommodation for 10 households only. Local elections on 29 June, and a consequent change of government, have since put the process into question.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, is undergoing large-scale redevelopment. Much of this redevelopment is led by the private sector. In the absence of adequate government regulation of these redevelopment efforts, Amnesty International is concerned that like residents of Building # 3, residents within other project areas may face risks concerning their right to adequate housing.

Everyone has the right to adequate housing under international human rights law and States are obligated to use all appropriate means to promote the right to adequate housing. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to continuous improvement of living conditions.” State Parties have an obligation under this Article to take “appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right”.

As a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Mongolia is obligated to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing, including the prohibition and prevention of forced evictions. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defines a forced eviction as “the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.”

To effectively protect the housing rights of a population, Governments must ensure that any possible violations of these rights by “third parties”, such as landlords or property developers, are prevented. Where such infringements do occur, the relevant public authorities should act to prevent any further deprivations and guarantee affected persons access to legal remedies or redress for any infringement caused. Authorities must provide adequate alternative housing to all those who cannot provide for themselves, and ensure that no one is left homeless or at risk of human rights violations as a result of an eviction.